


Love Comes Slow (And It Goes So Fast)

by EvilInTheNight



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 03:49:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4945660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilInTheNight/pseuds/EvilInTheNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are rumors, about how you know who your soulmate is.<br/>Some say when you find your soulmate, you will see the world in much brighter colors. Some say you will receive a soulmark.<br/>But those are just rumors.<br/>The truth is, you won’t know it right away.<br/>You will only know it when your soulmate dies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Comes Slow (And It Goes So Fast)

_3 days (before he died)_

 

You sit back and watch the other Avengers trying to lift Mjolnir while playing with your drumsticks.

Noticing Natasha keeps glancing over to Bruce’s direction, you smile, leaning closer to her and whisper, “Doc is just a bit shy.”

“I know,” the redhead says, sipping her martini, “I am patient.”

You chuckle. This is what you like about Natasha. She always has such a positive attitude when it comes to love.

“Hey, guys,” Natasha suddenly stands up and asks, “How much do you guys know about soulmates?”

“I thought they are like unicorns,” Rhodey says, “People make them up, right? You mean they actually exist?”

“Well, I’ve lived long enough to witness a few pairs.” Natasha smiles.

Tony murmurs something like “We all know how old you actually are” and the Black Widow shoots him a deadly glare.

 

“Wait, I thought you were joking. This is medically... biologically...right?” Rhodey looks around and yelp, “No one’s with me?”

“Sorry, bro, but Natasha is right.” Tony laughs, "I’ve never seen a pair myself. How do you know for sure they are soulmates?”

“Darcy once mentioned it to me,” Thor says, “She says once they found each other, you will see the world in much brighter colors.”

“I heard someone say that a soulmark will appear?” Maria smiles and joins in the conversation.

“Both of you are wrong.” Natasha says. “Any doctors care to explain that to them?”

You notice a faint blush on Bruce’s cheeks. You also notice Steve is silent the whole time.

 

It is Helen that speaks up. “You don’t feel anything when you first met him or her. No marks, no bright colors.”

“Then how can you be sure you’ve find the one?” You ask.

“You don’t.” Natasha says, finishing her drink. There seems to be tears in her emerald eyes. “But you will feel it when your soulmate pass away.”

 

= = = =

Day 0

 

You carry the kid back from Sokovia, and Helen tells you there’s nothing she can do.

You’ve decided not to think about it first, because there are so many other things to worry about.

Bruce is gone. Natasha is injured. Wanda is in a coma.

You wait by Natasha’s side when the nurses take care of her, but you are staring into the distance, wondering why your heart feels so empty like you left something in Sokovia.

You still don’t know what it is.

 

= = = =

Day 1 (after he died)

 

The truth finally catches up with you.

You have lost Pietro Maximoff in Sokovia.

He is gone. Dead.

As cliché as this is, he died for you.

His last words, “You didn’t see that coming?”, were the same as his first words to you.

Your chest tightens, you want to scream but there’s no voice coming out of you.

It is fear.

Fear of never getting to know him.

And you know you will never have a chance to.

 

= = = =

Day 2

 

You pretend to be okay.

You are not sure what others will think of you, of falling for someone who you barely know.

You see Wanda, crying her eyes out whenever she thinks of him.

And your heart aches, because you want to grieve like her.

You put an arm around her shoulder, comforting her.

Tony looks at you and raises an eyebrow.

Compassion. Empathy.

In their eyes, you are not grieving for him.

But you know damn well you are.

 

= = = =

Day 3

 

It is lying in your guts, so heavy that you don’t think you will ever be able to lift it.

Natasha looks straight into your eyes.

You turn your head away, avoiding her gaze, but you know that she can see right through you.

“Are you…” She wants to ask but bites her tongue, afraid that saying his name out loud would break you.

But you two ain’t best friend for no reason.

“Yes.”

You cannot believe you said it out loud.

Admitting that his death made a deeper cut then it should.

“I am so, so sorry, Clint.” She says, as if she could ever understand.

But she doesn’t, and you hope she never will.

 

= = = =

Day 4

 

Sometimes your mind drifts to the woods of Sokovia, where you first met him.

Everything was so vivid as you think of it more and more. You can almost feel the coldness creeping into your bones.

A flash of silver.

A missed arrow.

He stands still in front of you, and you want to stop time so that you may lean in, closer, look him in the eyes, and maybe kiss those lips reddened because of the snow.

Then the image dissolves like a snowflake, and you feel the wetness of the melted snow on your face.

 

= = = =

Week 1

 

When Steve Rogers comes to you, you honestly do not expect him to talk to you about his soulmate.

“He fell from the train. I was at war, and I didn’t have time to think about it. But when I finally had time, realizing what I’ve lost…I couldn’t handle it, too.”

So now even Steve knows. You wonder if it is that obvious.

“You will have him back.” You say, because it is true. Steve has met Bucky Barnes already. Bucky remembers him. It is just a matter of time for them to find each other again.

You say it with such faith because you want to believe that you will have what Steve has. That maybe after sometime, someone will tell you that your soulmate isn’t dead.

You hold on to this hope so tightly it hurts.

 

= = = =

Month 1

 

You think of him again and again, replaying the memories in your head, finding out small pieces of information that will help you know him better.

You remember every word he says to you, even though it has been a month.

You remember the way he smiles.

One day you smiles at Wanda and she drops what she’s holding.

You look at her face: shocked, confused, and then there are tears running down.

Then you realize you begin to smile like that cocky bastard.

And your smile turns bitter.

 

= = = =

Year 1

 

You still think of him.

Pietro was brilliant. You couldn’t forget someone like him, whether he was your soulmate or not.

 

You begin to wonder if Pietro felt something different when he was with you.

Did he remember you like how you remember him?

Were you beautiful in his memories, just like how he is in yours?

Did he see images of you flash before his eyes before they are forever closed?

 

You finally understand why you didn’t recognize your soulmate when you first met him.

Soulmate is like air.

You never know how much you need him when he was right next to you.

You only know it when he’s gone.

 

= = = =

Year 47

 

Steve and Bucky just went out for a walk. Because of the serum, the two look as if they were in their fifties. You were right about Steve would get his Bucky back. The past forty years were the best years in their life.

Tony has settled down with Pepper. Now he lives in a farmhouse far away from New York but still flies back from time to time.

Thor realized Jane wasn’t his soulmate. He claimed that he found one in Asgard, but he has never ever brought him to meet the Avengers. You used to tease him and say that his soulmate is probably his brother Loki.

Natasha passed away five years ago. Even in the last few years of her life she was elegant and graceful, as you’ve always remembered. When she died Bruce was broken. He passed away two years after that. “I finally knew what Tasha meant all those years ago when she said you will know when your soulmate passed away.” Those were Bruce’s last words. “I am so glad she didn’t have to experience this.”

Wanda has two kids with Vision. She named one of them after Pietro.

 

Not all of them know you had a soulmate. Sometimes you look at Steve and Bucky and are jealous of what they have.

But most of the time, you are grateful for those memories of Pietro, because those few days, as short as they were, were enough to light up your whole life.

After all those year, you can finally say you love him.

 

You didn’t see that coming.

He burst into your life, gave you so little to remember, and took out all chances of happiness in your future.

 _Life isn’t fair_ , you say to yourself, and know that Pietro will agree with you.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by a friend. We were talking about the reasons why people loves soulmate fics, and one of them is that there's sure to be a happy ending. Then I started thinking, what if this is applied to Clint and Pietro's situation? What if, the cruel reality is that, one of them is dead before the other realized that he's his soulmate?  
> Also we discussed about the romantic part everyone loves: you get a solid prove that the soulmates are in love with each others. But love doesn't work that way. I really want to put a twist there so it is less cliche and sappy.
> 
> Song: Let Her Go - Passenger  
> Please leave a comment.


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